Politics, Math, Gospel Confuse Dem Political Operative

Washington (CNSNews.com) - The woman who managed the 2000 presidential campaign of Democrat Al Gore urged fellow liberals at the Take Back America conference to work hard "over the next 523 days and take back America and give [Vice President] Dick Cheney and the rest of those creeps their one way ticket back home."

But Donna Brazile, who was clearly speaking about the November 7, 2006 election, confused both her mathematical and political calculations. As of Wednesday, there were 524 days until the 2006 election; and regardless of the election results, Cheney's term as vice president isn't due to expire until Jan. 20, 2009. Later, Brazile botched a reference to a biblical verse.

In an interview with Cybercast News Service following a panel discussion, Brazile insisted that "the voters are with us and they have been with us on the issues in every election."

Despite the fact that Republicans won the last two presidential elections and picked up seats in both the U.S. House and Senate in the last mid-term election of 2002, Brazile insisted that "the problem is [voters] don't know exactly who we are and what we stand for."

She also rejected the idea that conservatives have a lock on Christian voters.

"You want to talk about compassion? I'll match any one of them [GOP Christian conservatives] word for word, verb for verb, and I'll match their life with my life and I can show you that I give back more," Brazile said.

"If they ever read Luke 10:48 (sic) 'To whom much is given, much is required,' they couldn't stand up and preach the so-called gospel that they talk about," Brazile added, incorrectly identifying the biblical verse. [Editor's note: The correct verse is Luke 12:48, which reads in part: "And to whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required."]

Brazile also referenced abortion rights and her Catholic faith.

"People tell me, because I am Catholic -- they keep saying to me 'Donna, how can you be Catholic and pro-choice?' I say, 'Ask my grandmother and my great-grandmother who controlled their body (a reference to slavery) and I will tell you why I am pro-choice," Brazile said to applause.

Brazile appeared to ridicule the Catholic Church while noting that she did not expect her local bishop to contact her to give her political talking points. In an apparent reference to the pedophilia scandal in the Church, Brazile lampooned a hypothetical confessional exchange between herself and a priest. "Bless me father for I have sinned. What about you?" she said.

Toby Chaudhuri, communications director for the Campaign for America's Future, the sponsor of the Take Back America conference, echoed the message that conservatives do not have a monopoly on religious and moral issues.

"Certainly God is not a conservative. God is not just a progressive. God is much more than that. The values we are fighting for are truly moral values," Chaudhuri told Cybercast News Service.

'Arrogance, deceit and corruption'

Eli Pariser, executive director of the liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org, declared that 'the right's arrogance, deceit and corruption are catching up with them." He participated in the same panel discussion as Brazile.

Pariser said President Bush's popularity is falling because of his Social Security reform proposal as well as cultural and economic issues.

"The broad mandate that President Bush claimed was a mirage. There is almost no mandate at all," Pariser said.

He also attacked some in the Democratic Party, who he claimed were not being true to liberal values. "Democrats' allegiance to wealthy donors and CEOs has blocked the potential for a coherent, progressive vision and we have drifted away from our constituency, and it's time to change all of that," Pariser said.

If the liberals get their message out to voters, they will be rewarded with much more than a majority of voters, according to Pariser. "We need to be focused on not how we get to 51 percent, but how do we get to 80 percent? That's where we should be," he said.